dolphin swim

Was wondering if anyone has done the anguilla dolphin swim though carnival. My wife really wants to swim with the dolphins and see it's excursions here and st thomas ports. Trying to pick which one is best to do.

We just did Anguilla Dolphin Encounter thru RCCL on Freedom of the Seas St Maarten call 4/24. I think it's the same operator, as we had Carnival people with us. You have to take a 45 minute or so boat ride across the Anguilla Channel over to Anguilla (and fill out a customs form). Beer and soda are available for sale on the boat ride.

Then it's a very short bus ride to the beach. The dolphin program there was a lot of fun.

If you select the 'encounter' option, you get to stand in the water on a submerged dock in groups of around 10-12. The trainer will have the dolphin swim by a few times so you can 'pet' her as she goes by. Then each person will get to do 3 different interactions. a "kiss" (hold the dolphin's nose up to your cheek), a "dance" (hold the dolphin's fins like hands), and a "target" (hold your arm out high and make a fist and the dolphin will swim up and put her nose to your target).

Those that buy the 'swim' package get a couple extra maneuvers. One is the dolphin will flip over on her back and let you grab her fins and she will pull you thru the water for a bit. The other is the 'foot push' where she will put her nose under your feet and push you thru the water. There may have been a 3rd move that I didn't notice.

Before/after your group is in the water with the dolphins you can hang out on the beach, which has a shaded area with chairs.

After everyone is done you get back on the bus to the operator's headquarters where they will serve a burger/chips and punch. Liquor items available for sale. There is also a gift shop and this is where you can buy pictures (they do not allow you to take pictures of the encounter)

The pictures are $30/each (delivered on a CD) or there are packages to get all the pictures of all the interactions for everyone in your party (for 3 people it was $139).

We did the 'encounter' and were happy with it. The 'swim' looked very cool as well. The pix are spendy but what can you do.

Hope that helps!

We were on Independence of the Seas 4/12 and had a horrible experience with the swim. The excursion was oversold and the ferry over was so crowded some people had to stand the entire trip. Also once we were in the water, our guide allowed many people to complete the 6 swim choices before my family had 1. Go for the encounter it sounds like a much better choice.